Proverbs 5:1-6:35

Roger Hahn

Editing and additions by Dennis
Bratcher

Proverbs 5 provides the eighth "instruction" in the series
of twelve instructions in Proverbs 1:8-9:18. It continues the
admonitions to avoid the strange or foreign women, admonitions that have
been appearing since Proverbs 2:16. In fact, with the exception of
Proverbs 6:1-19 almost all of chapters 5-7 address the question of
temptation to illicit sexual activity. Scholars have not agreed on how
Proverbs 6:1-19 fits into the flow of the book. Some see it as another
instruction while others see it as a collection of miscellaneous
admonitions. The style is somewhat different than the other instructions
of the opening section of Proverbs. As a result this study will treat
those verses as a collection of admonitions but will not identify that
section as an "instruction" in the technical sense. Proverbs 6:20-35
then forms the ninth instruction.

The Eighth Instruction: Proverbs 5:1-23

Chapter 5 begins with the typical opening words of an instruction, "my
son." It then turns to an appeal to hear the father’s teaching. The
main subject of the instruction is outlined in verses 3-6 where the "strange"
woman is described. The final part of the chapter consists of a series
of commands and prohibitions relating to avoiding the strange woman.
Motivation statements are designed to persuade the young listener/reader
to obey the father’s instructions.

Verse 1 begins with the command to pay close attention to the father’s
wisdom. The two lines of verse 1 are parallel in meaning. Both
verbs emphasize giving attention to the father. The effort of listening
is part of the requirements of wisdom. The purpose of such intense
listening is to "guard discretion." The word translated
"discretion" (mezimma; NRSV: prudence) is used negatively
to refer to the plots of wicked people and positively to describe
insightful planning. Discretion or prudence is the ability to
discover the consequences of actions and to make the right choices
accordingly. The author wants the son to learn from experience, but not
from the painful experience of his own failures. He is to watch and
listen, observing the successes and failures of others. Then he will be
equipped to make the right choices that will lead to the best
consequences.

The second line of verse 2 focuses more narrowly on what the son/reader
should speak. His lips are to preserve or guard knowledge.
Proverbs understands very well that part of wisdom is the ability not to
talk too much. The wrong words to the wrong people at the wrong time can
undo a lifetime of building trust and confidence.

Verse 3 returns to the subject of the "strange woman" or
adulteress. The masculine form of the same word is often translated as
"stranger." It is likely that the author is not just warning against an
Israelite prostitute or adultery with a neighbor lady. The term used
strongly suggests the danger of a foreign woman. The point is not
nationalistic pride or ethnic prejudice. The Old Testament is keenly
aware of the pain of being rejected for being a foreigner. That was the
status of Israel in Egypt and the Old Testament is full of injunctions
to remember and fairly treat the "sojourners" or resident aliens who
were living in Israel.

This section of Proverbs is warning against becoming entangled with
foreigners who would seduce Israel from worship of and obedience to
Yahweh God. Much of the success of Baalism in Israel came from temple
prostitutes – foreign women offering their sexual services for Baal (see
Baal Worship in the Old Testament). Beyond the temple prostitutes,
Israel had difficulty marrying foreign women without becoming enmeshed
in that "strange woman’s" foreign religious practices.

The Old Testament stands firmly in favor of marrying within the
religious tradition. Marriage outside the faith puts a person at risk.
The issue today is not narrow mindedness versus open mindedness. The
issue is how important a role faith plays in one’s life. The fact that
few people warn against marrying outside one’s religious faith nowadays
is not a sign of increasing tolerance. It is a reflection of our
cultural assumption that religious faith and practice plays only a small
role in a person’s life. When one set of doctrinal teaching is
considered interchangeable with another set, then there is no truth
about God upon which is considered worth building your life.

Verse 3 contrasts the "lips of a strange woman" with the lips
that preserve knowledge in verse 2. Though some scholars believe
that lips that drip honey in verse 3 refers to kisses rather than
words, the parallelism suggests that her speech is the author’s concern.
Honey was one of the promised blessings of the land of Canaan and
oil was highly prized for cosmetics as well as for cooking. Thus verse 3
describes the strange woman as speaking enchanting and attractive words.
Whether the invitation of the temple prostitute or the flirtatious
appeal of the foreign wife to worship her idol, the end result would be
devastating.

The word "end" that appears in verse 4 could be literally
translated "afterwards." Though sin – and especially sexual sin – seems
sweet as honey and as natural as oil is smooth, there is an afterwards.
Afterwards the sweetness becomes bitterness and instead of smooth
comfort there is slicing pain.

No good comes out of marital infidelity. No good comes from
disregarding God’s covenant. No good comes from thinking oneself an
exception to the standards of faithfulness and obedience that God has
laid down for both marriage and relationship with himself. God has
constructed the universe with moral structures as unbreakable as the
scientific laws that govern matter and energy. The Biblical commands to
sexual purity, marital fidelity, and spiritual holiness were not given
to restrict life and take away joy. They were given because God created
for wholeness and holiness, because purity and focus and joy is only
possible when we live within the structures of the moral universe God
has created. Proverbs did not philosophize about this in theological or
abstract terms. The author simply warns of the devastating consequences
of wrong sexual choices.

Verses 5-14 catalog some of the consequences of succumbing to the
strange woman. That the first consequence mentioned is "death"
should be a sobering thought. As the Old Testament writers often did,
the author went straight to the bottom line. Following the footsteps of
the strange woman would lead to the grave.

The KJV phrase "her steps take hold on hell" can be easily
misunderstood. The Hebrew word the KJV translated as "hell" is Sheol
(NRSV: Sheol). It was not the place of eternal punishment, but
simply the gathering place of the dead. It is parallel to the idea of
death (as the Hebrew parallelism shows) and may be translated as "grave"
(NIV) or "pit" (see Sheol, Hell and the Dead).

Along the path that leads to death there are many pitfalls for the
person who becomes entangled with the strange woman. Verse 9 warns that
the son’s strength will be given to strangers. Kidner (p.70) puts it
very pointedly when he writes, "loose living…dissipates irrevocably the
powers a man has been given to invest. He will wake up to find that he
has been exploited by his chosen circle, with whom he had no real ties
(9,10), condemned by his conscience (11-13), and on the brink of public
ruin (14)." One only has so much strength and time, only so much energy
and passion, and it is tragic to pour out those precious resources on
relationships that are temporary. Whether the son is entangled with the
temple prostitute or the idolatrous wife he has no hope of the kind of
covenant relationship God designed for him. When one comes to the
realization that all his life’s energy has been poured into an eternally
empty relationship nothing but bitterness can result. But that
bitterness can only be directed against yourself because you are the one
who makes the choices.

Pursuit of the strange woman not only risks devastating disease, it
also undercuts one’s ability to enter wholesome and faithful
relationships. The deception and disobedience wrapped up in making
impurity look presentable is a cancer that destroys one’s ability to
make the honest and vulnerable commitments that sustain a Christian
marriage. One is left with only self-accusation, "I hated discipline. I
would not obey. I refused to listen."

Verses 15-23 focus on the positive values of fidelity. These verses are
filled with figures of speech, but the subject is clearly the enjoyment
of sexual relationship within marriage. There are still people who
believe that the Bible has a dim view of sexuality. But that viewpoint
is the product of centuries of misinterpretation by Christian
theologians with more training in Greek philosophy than in Hebrew
theology. The Old Testament clearly sees sexual fulfillment within
marriage as a delightful matter. This section of Proverbs is a case in
point.

Verses 15-19 are built around water as a figure of speech for
sexuality. This comparison had two sources. Hebrew medical understanding
perceived semen as a form of water. Even earlier, the Canaanite culture
of the Near East incorporated this metaphorically into their myths, in
which rain (always from a male deity) was the cause of fertility of the
ground (a female deity, Mother Earth; see Baal
Worship in the Old Testament).

Further, water was vital for life. Waters, rivers, springs, cisterns
and wells were frequently mentioned in the Old Testament as sources of
life. It is sexual reproduction that enables life to continue past the
present generation and since water and sexuality were connected to life,
they were related to each other. Water was also a symbol of joy and
renewal in the arid land of Palestine. Finding an oasis in the desert
brought relief from the scorching heat and moments of relaxation in the
shade enjoying the cool water.

With such a background the injunction to drink from your own cistern,
the flowing waters from your own well powerfully expressed the joy of
sexual fulfillment with one’s spouse alone. In verse 17 the Hebrew text
emphasizes that these joys are for you "alone;" they are not to
be shared.

Verse 16 points out the opposite. Throwing water in the street was
unthinkable in the ancient Near East. Water was too precious to be
thrown in the street. Wasting sexual intimacy was equally ridiculous.
Should the illicit liaisons result in children the foolish man who
indulges his sexual desires outside marriage throws precious children
into the streets with no name and no love – a wasting of their lives.

The reference to "fountain" in verse 18 appears to focus
especially on children. In the agricultural world of the Old Testament
with no governmental social security, children provided for their
parents in old age. Thus the greatest sign of blessing in Hebrew culture
was to have many children. The greatest joy imaginable to our author was
the growth of a large, happy family brought to life by the love of a man
and the wife of his youth.

Verses 18 and 19 make it clear that the figures of speech in this
section refer to sexual love. Verse 19 uses language very similar to the
Song of Solomon (2:9, 17, 4:5; and 7:3) to compare one’s wife to a deer
gracefully cavorting in the meadow. She satisfies her lover with her
breasts and ravishes him with her love. Who could ask for more? The
author clearly believes there can be no improvement on such a delightful
sexual relationship. Verse 21 shows this by posing the question, "Why be
captured by the strange woman? Why fall into the bosom of the foreign
woman?" The answer is clearly, "There is no sane reason under the sun to
seek sexual fulfillment outside marriage."

Proverbs 5 was written to men struggling with the temptations of either
temple prostitutes or intriguing foreign women. It envisions either
marital unfaithfulness by use of the temple prostitute or covenant
unfaithfulness by marriage to a non-Israelite woman. This chapter does
not directly address the issue of divorce as experienced in our
contemporary Western culture. Though divorce did take place in Israelite
culture it had not reached the epidemic proportions that it would by the
time of Jesus and that it has in our day and age.

Nevertheless, these verses make a strong case for the permanence of
marriage. God designed sexual intimacy as the most obvious expression
and symbol of the unity of a husband and wife. The author of Proverbs in
no way thought that either a man or a woman could experience sexual
union and then abandon the relationship without scars. The shared joy
and the sense of belonging that these verses mention speak of an
emotional intimacy and bonding more powerful than the sex act itself.
Violation of that emotional bonding brings devastation to both partners,
as verses 9-14 make clear.

A Christian marriage bears the delightful, but heavy, responsibility to
nurture and sustain the emotional bonds created by sexual intimacy.
Sexual relationship without emotional bonding violates God’s plan for
marriage and treats one’s partner as a prostitute. Once such
sexual/emotional bonding has occurred it is God’s will that it be
maintained, enriched, and developed. Failure to maintain the emotional
oneness of a relationship violates God’s plan for a marriage.

The clear implication of Proverbs 5:9-20 is the importance of
constantly filling the reservoirs of joy, family, and love. There are
instances in which one marriage partner refuses to cooperate in the
shared process of building such reservoirs when the other partner wants
to develop that intimacy and joy. However, in too many cases the problem
goes back to earlier stages in the marriages when problems of
communication, needs and desires were not dealt with.

Verses 21-23 are sometimes treated as part of chapter 6. However, they
state general principles that form an appropriate conclusion to the
warning against strange women. The Lord watches human lives and knows
our choices. There is nothing hidden from him. When sexual sins are
hidden from public knowledge a person may develop the false confidence
that God does not know or care either. But sin always captures the
sinners; the foolishness of trying to fool God and of rejecting his
discipline always leads to death.

Four Brief Admonitions: Proverbs 6:1-19

The structure of Proverbs 6:1-19 is perceived in different ways by
different scholars. Some see these verses as containing simply another
"instruction" in the same format as the other twelve instructions in
Proverbs 1:8-9:18. They point to the initial address in verse 1, "my
son." Others point out that these verses do not contain the same
kind of commands and prohibitions as found in the other instructions.
The motivation statements are different and the comparisons differ. The
use of the ant, the sluggard, and the numerical sayings are more similar
to later portions of Proverbs than to the instructions of Proverbs 1-9.
However, there are four distinct subject matter units contained in
verses 1-5, 6-11, 12-15, and 16-19.

Proverbs 6:1-5 advises the son/reader to stay out of arrangements in
which he provides surety for another’s debts. The two lines of verse 1
include pledging financial backing or cosigning for a neighbor and for a
stranger. If the son has made such a promise – perhaps in a moment of
sympathy or compassion – he is urged to run immediately and do anything
to get out of that promise.

Deuteronomy 15:1-6 shows that Israel dealt more ruthlessly with
foreigners than with Israelites. If we read Proverbs 6:1 legalistically,
it would forbid any kindness or generosity. It is important to remember
the way proverbs work. They often present both sides of an issue and
certainly one side of the financial issue is that cosigning for someone
else always carries potential danger. It would be an irresponsible use
of the Bible to quote this verse to deflect the teaching of Jesus in
Matthew 5:42 not to refuse anyone wishing to borrow from you. On the
other hand, it is foolish naively to obey Matthew 5:42 and expect that
everyone will honor their word and pay you back. Kidner’s argument (p.
71) that the proverb is not designed to prevent generosity, but to
prevent gambling misses the point. There is always a risk when we commit
financial resources to another.

Verse 2 points out that such commitments come from one’s own mouth.
Financial promises are free choices. One always has the choice of
keeping one’s mouth shut or of saying, "No," when the neighbor or
stranger asks for help.

Verse 3 uses very expressive language to show how dangerous the promise
of surety can be: you have come into your neighbor’s power. The
Hebrew literally states that you are in the palm of your neighbor’s hand
when you have promised surety for him. Urgently hurry to him,
beg, plead, grovel – do anything to extract yourself from such
obligation. Verse 5 compares the one who has made the promise to a
hunted gazelle or bird. No effort is to be spared in
getting out of such obligation.

Verses 6-11 deal with diligence. A significant part of Proverbs’ wisdom
deals with one’s diligence in work. Both here and in chapter 30 the
ant provides a point of comparison. The ant was also mentioned with
admiration in other ancient Near Eastern writings. The point of
comparison here is with the ant’s diligence in gathering its food. Verse
7 points out that ants have no visible rulers or governmental
structures, but they take the initiative and see to their needs without
external motivation. Some scholars believe this verse might have been a
swipe at the inefficient bureaucracy that often crippled Israel from the
time of Solomon on. The oldest known Greek version of Proverbs contains
three additional verses at this point. The Jerusalem Bible translates
them this way:

Or go to the bee and see how diligent she is,and how
considerable the work she does.Kings and commoners take what she
yields for their health.She is sought after and revered by all.
Her strength may be feeble, but because she does homage to wisdom
she wins respect.

These additional verses address the problem of lazy women since the ant
was compared with men.

The reader of this section is addressed as "sluggard" (NRSV:
lazybones). The Hebrew word means lazy or slow moving. The Anchor
Bible appropriately translates it "loafer." Verses 9 and 10 suggest that
the agenda is not a slow moving versus fast moving person, but a
criticism of those who sleep in, take frequent naps, or go to bed too
early. Verse 11 portrays poverty and scarcity sneaking up like a robber
and leaving the loafer shocked by what he does not have that his
industrious neighbor had acquired. This section affirms the value of
hard work; it does not guarantee that all hard work will yield equally
prosperous economic rewards. Some people must work extremely hard to
have what others achieve much easier. However, laziness ultimately
creates its own punishment.

Some scholars connect verses 12-15 with verses 6-11. However, the
subject of verses 12-15 is not laziness but the disaster that
accompanies certain inappropriate behavior. Alden (p. 57) takes these
verses to refer to lying in general deceptiveness. However, the language
is not sufficiently specific to draw that conclusion. Verse 12 names the
subject as "a worthless person, a wicked man" (NASB). The Hebrew words
are forceful. The first phrase is 'adam belial, a worthless human
being. Belial is a compound word in Hebrew meaning without worth
or use or (NRSV: a scoundrel). By the time of the Dead Sea
Scrolls the word was used as a name for Satan and it appears in 2
Corinthians 6:15 with that meaning. The second phrase is 'ish
'aven, a man of wickedness or perversion (NRSV: a villain).
The modifier speaks of twistedness and distortion. This person goes
about with a twisted or corrupt mouth that produces crooked speech.

It is possible that the author intends to refer to lying, but it is
more likely that suggestive or provocative language is meant. The
following lines refer to winks of the eye and gestures with feet and
fingers. The exact gestures and their meaning cannot be known now.
Different cultures develop meaningful gestures with both positive and
negative connotations. The fact that verse 14 speaks of evil, deceit,
and dissension is ample evidence that it is the negative gestures to
which the author refers.

The final paragraph of this section, verses 16-19, is a graded
numerical saying. Such proverbial constructions were common in both
the Old Testament and in the non-biblical ancient Near Eastern writings.
Amos 1-2 and Proverbs 30 make significant use of the "for three . . .
for four . . . " sayings, but sequential combinations of numbers from
one to eight can be found. Verses 16-19 list the six, no seven, things
that the Lord hates. Arrogance, deceit, and lack of compassion head the
list. Most graded numerical sayings have the most important element, the
one that the sage wants to emphasize, in the last added saying. Here the
full force of the Lord hates falls on the one who sows discord
in a family. This serves to underscore the preceding instructions
about fidelity in marriage and commitment to family, as well as to
introduce the ninth instruction that returns to similar teachings.

The Ninth Instruction: Proverbs 6:20-35

The instruction format returns in verses 20-35. The familiar address, "my
son," appears in verse 20 and is followed by a mixture of commands,
prohibitions, and motivation statements. The subject comes back to the
danger of becoming involved with the strange or foreign woman. Verses
20-21 echo the language of Proverbs 1:8 and 3:1-3 with the appeal to
bind the wise teaching of parents upon your heart.

Verse 22 makes specific promises of the benefits of wisdom teaching.
Incorporating such teaching into your life will provide guidance by day
and protection by night. In addition such teaching will speak to you
when you are awake. The word for "speak" or "talk" here in the
final line of verse 22 is used in Psalms 77 and 119 to suggest
meditation. These verses portray Wisdom as a faithful friend who is
always beside you to help and advise.

Verse 23 piles on further compliments to wisdom. Her command (mitzvah)
is a lamp; her torah is a light; and her corrective
discipline (musar, NRSV: reproof) provides the path of
life. If the light and direction of wisdom teaching is accepted it
will keep the son/reader from adultery and sexual immorality.

Verse 24 returns to the subject of sexual purity. The seducing woman
speaks smoothly, has an attractive beauty and beguiling eyes. However,
the consequences of sexual failure at this point are again recounted –
perhaps more devastatingly here than in previous chapters. The focus in
these verses is specifically on adultery, sexual intimacy with another
man’s wife. Verse 26 points out that the prostitute’s price is a loaf
of bread, but adultery can cost a man his very life.

This is not, as some have supposed, a recommendation of a prostitute (a
better deal than adultery); prostitution has already been roundly
condemned. This points out that as devastating as sharing the
prostitute’s bed may be, adultery exacts and even more terrible price.
Just as a person cannot hug a fire into his lap or walk on red
hot coals
without burning consequences so a man cannot go to bed with his
neighbor’s wife without staggering punishment.

The illustrations of verse 27 and 28 are double-edged. The hugging or
scooping fire into a man’s lap is an obvious allusion to pulling
another’s wife into his embrace. The reference to feet may well be
another of the frequent biblical examples of feet being used as a
euphemism for male genitalia. The point is clear; if you play with fire
you will be burned.

Verses 30-31 point out that a thief can make restitution and after
paying his debt to the victims and to society may resume a somewhat
normal life. However, verses 32-35 declare in contrast to thievery
adultery will not be wiped off the books. It leaves an indelible stain
and no price can buy off the guilt of the guilty parties. Believers need
to give special attention to this section of Proverbs. In contemporary
society the rushing avalanche of office affairs and the media mocking of
marital fidelity create the illusion that adultery is no longer a real
problem. Wisdom knows better.

Study Questions for Reflection and Discussion

These readings and study questions are in preparation
for next week's lesson.

As you study each day ask the Lord to speak to you through his word.
Ask the Holy Spirit to make the word come alive to you for that day.

First Day: Read the notes on Proverbs 5:1-6:35.
Look up the Scripture
references given.

1. Identify one or two bits of new information that seemed important to
you in this lesson. Why were these facts important?

2. Select one or two spiritual insights that spoke to you personally.
Describe the spiritual significance of those insights for your life.

3. Write a brief prayer asking the Lord to help you exemplify and
promote the kind of sexual purity that will bring glory to his name.

1. What teaching about wisdom appears in verses 1-5? How would you
apply the comparison of teaching to the apple of your eye to your own
life?

2. What techniques does the strange woman use to entice to young man
in verses 6-21? What desires of the young man does she appeal to? How
would you recommend that he guard himself against such appeals?

3. What consequences will fall upon the young man according to verses
22-23? What other consequences are you aware of that are part of the
penalty for illicit sexual relationships? What can you do to help young
men discover the importance of sexual purity?

Third Day: Read Proverbs 7:1-8:11.
Now focus in on
Proverbs 7:24-8:11.

1. Does Proverbs 7:24-27 add anything to your understanding? If so,
what? Why do you think the author keeps going on and on about this
subject? Do we need to spend much time on it? Why or why not?

2. What clues in Proverbs 8:1-11 suggest that Wisdom is being portrayed
as a rival seductress trying to win the young man away from the strange
woman? What does Lady Wisdom have going for her?

3. How important is it to choose Wisdom? How costly is it? Are you
willing to pay that cost? Why or why not? What ideas do you have about
how to encourage others to pay the cost?

1. What political and economic influence does Wisdom have? Can you give
examples of the benefit of biblical wisdom in government or in business?
What do we need to do to make biblical wisdom more influential in
politics and economics?

2. What is the relationship of Wisdom and creation according to verses
22-31? What application to your life do you suppose should be drawn from
the emphasis on delight and rejoicing in verses 30-31?

3. If New Testament passages such as John 1:1-5; 1 Corinthians 1:24;
Colossians 1:15-17; and Hebrews 1:1-3 compare Christ to Lady Wisdom,
what insights about Christ could you then derive from Proverbs 8:22-31?
Which, if any, would have specific meaning for your life?

1. What new benefits (if any) do Proverbs 8:32-36 promise to the one
who seeks wisdom? How important is the reference to the favor of the
Lord in verse 35? What would that mean in your life? What would you need
to do to receive the favor of the Lord?

2. What figures of speech does the author use in Proverbs 9:1-6 to
portray Wisdom as an attractive lady? What ways do you use to
communicate to others the value of biblical wisdom?

3. Write a brief prayer asking the Lord to give you wisdom to better
promote the cause of biblical wisdom in the world in which you live.

1. Based on verses 7-9 what attitude should you take toward a scoffer
or wicked man? What attitude should you take toward a wise or righteous
person? Is the advice of these verses one sided? What should or should
not be added to them?

2. Summarize the meaning of verses 10-12 in your own words. How strong
is your desire to enter into Wisdom’s beginning? What holds you back?

3. What does the author mean by verse 17? Have you experienced what he
is talking about? What were the consequences in your life? Write a brief
affirmation of your desire to live by God’s wisdom.